123 eGuides

1 Minute Advice: Highest eCommerce ROI from Email. That's Right, Email.

Some old workhorses never die, and one of them is email. According to Retention Science, a marketing data firm, email "generated the highest ROI for eCommerce in 2014." Not only that, email "consistently outperforms other channels in engagement and conversion."

You know those Millennials marketers are always trying to engage and influence? Retention Science reports that 47 percent of them prefer to communicate with brands via email, while only 6 percent choose social media.

In terms of email effectiveness, Retention Science found that "percent off" vs. "dollar off" deal emails generate more clicks and more conversions. As for those very important email subject lines, 6 to 10 words result in optimal open rates, and any punctuation in a subject line increases open rates -- but question marks are especially effective.

Retention Science based its observations on a massive survey of 1 billion emails from a cross-section of retailers that resulted in 60 million orders of the last two years.

1 Minute Advice: How Advertising Helps Competitors

Advertising can be very effective in increasing a brand's awareness if it is targeted to the right audience. But a fascinating study demonstrates that advertising can be just as effective in promoting a competitor's brand in highly competitive business sectors.

Research jointly conducted by two universities studied the competitive U.S. beer market after Miller and Coors, two major beer brewers, merged. The merger helped shrink the category and make it more competitive than ever. Covering the study for Strategy + Business, Matt Palmquist writes, "According to the authors’ findings, managers in competitive industries might spend even more on advertising campaigns, but they must carefully weigh the impact of this investment — because marketing in tightly contested sectors can have spillover effects that also raise consumers’ awareness of and interest in competing brands."

Palmquist adds, "Moreover, the escalation in advertising costs paradoxically resulted in increases to rivals’ profits, the analysis showed. All major companies competing in the region appeared to receive a small positive bump in sales from the increase of their competitors’ marketing investment."

This study suggests that advertising expenditures can just as easily promote a competitor's brand as it can your own, particularly in a very competitive brand category. Food for thought.

Read the full article here.

1 Minute Advice: Consumer and Marketer Perceptions Don't Always Match

Here's a sobering thought: What if the perceptions you have, as a marketer, don't match up with the perceptions of your customers or prospects? A recent research study by Spong PR suggests that is indeed the case.

The study found that "marketers overestimate how much and how frequently consumers are talking about brands," for example. Less than 1/3 of consumers (31%) say they tell others if they think a brand is doing a poor job anywhere from once a day to once a week. Marketers, however, think 88% of consumers talk negatively about brands from once a day to once a week. Marketers also think consumers are more forgiving to a brand than consumers might actually be. Less than half of consumers (49%) think consumers will always or eventually forgive a brand that has a long history of supporting causes or their communities but does something wrong; in fact, 15% of consumers say they will never or only occasionally forgive such a brand. Marketers, however, think 62% of consumers will always or eventually forgive a brand.

Consumer and marketer perceptions don't even line up when it comes to media. As sources of accurate brand information, consumers rate editorial at 14% and social media at 13%. Marketers, however, think consumers get accurate brand information via editorial channels only 6% of the time, while they rate social media usage by consumers at 27%.

Looks like marketers need to do some work when it comes to understanding consumers!

 

1 Minute Advice: Consumers Want Brand Transactions

Purchasing products online is now an overwhelmingly common consumer activity, with close to 80 percent of American consumers over the age of 15 making online purchases. This presents both an opportunity and a potential danger for brands.

BrandShop, a provider of branded digital commerce solutions, conducted a survey of consumers between the ages of 18 and 65 at all income levels and throughout the U.S. to determine some of the habits of online shoppers. The survey results revealed the following:

"1. Consumers are looking to transact, not only engage with a brand.
Engaging with a consumer online is simply not enough in this ultra-competitive market. With the rise of third party e-tailers, transactions occur anywhere, anytime. Brands must empower their customers with the ability to transact directly on its digital channels. Giving consumers what they desire will allow brands to expand their market share while providing consumers with an authentic, branded experience."

"2. Consumers prefer to buy directly from a brand's digital channel.
While most purchases take place over third party channels, it is now understood that consumers prefer to buy directly from a brand if given the option. The confidence and authenticity a consumer experiences from transacting directly with a brand is not something easily replicated by third parties."

"3. The amount and quality of information available to consumers is essential.
During the consumer shopping cycle, the most essential step is research. Brand content and relevant information give consumers the confidence to purchase right then and there, without having to leave the site to complete the transaction elsewhere."

"4. There is a huge gap between consumer expectations and the current reality.
Consumer expectations are not being met by brands. There is only a short list of brands that enable direct transaction through owned digital channels. Huge opportunity awaits the brands that are willing to unlock their digital potential through active engagement, content, information, transaction and fulfillment."

Read the full survey results here.

1 Minute Advice: Good Service Equals Positive Brand Perceptions

It seems self-evident, but not every brand follows this advice: Provide good service and it results in positive brand perceptions. A recent study of global Internet users, as reported by eMarketer, showed that 89 percent of respondents said "good service definitely makes me feel more positive about brands." Interestingly, it doesn't take a great deal of effort on the part of brand marketers to satisfy a consumer: 81 percent of respondents indicated that they simply wanted their questions answered.

Still, there are ways brands can differentiate themselves when it comes to customer service. More than half (52 percent) of respondents said they like service that is personalized to a consumer and his or her interests, and 43 percent said they are willing to be "more forgiving of companies that I think know me." Good service is important for another reason: 61 percent of respondents say they tell family and friends about their experience, and 38 percent are motivated to write a positive review of a good experience.

Brand marketers should be wary of errors, however: 57 percent of respondents said that "mistakes make me think about switching" brands.

Read more from eMarketer here.